Prefabricated swimming pool



July l2, 1960 o. .1. GAGNE ETAL PREFABRICATED SWIMMING POOL Filed Feb. 11, 1957 ATTORNEYS .2,944,164 rREFABRrcATEn PooL Oscar '3. Gagne, 5'221 Graytomandvemard I. Brown,

. 8664 Penro'd, both of Detroit, Mich.

Filed Feb.'11,.19`51, ser. No. 639,380

f3 Claims. Y (Ci. 41.472) A The' present invention relates ming pool. y i j VStated in general terms, the swimming pool is prefabricated-as a integral unit and hasV a bottom, side and end walls interconnected to each other and formed essentially of` a combination of fbrousand plastic material. More specifically, the walls of the prefabricated swimming pool are formed of plies of woven fibers such for example to a prefabricated swimas glass fibers .impregnated,.bonded together, said sealed with a plastic material such for example as a polyethylene resin.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a prefabricated swimming pool adapted to be transported as a unit to the site and there located in a recess in the ground prepared therefor.

It is a further object ofthe present invention to provide a prefabricated swimming pool having a bottom wall a portion of which is displaced downwardly to provide for increased depth in the pool, together with a movable platform Vor jacket including a f loor portionl A taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing,

illustrating a preferred embodiment of -the invention, wherein:

Figure l is a plan View of the Prefabricated swimming pool construction.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Figure 1. y

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Figure 1, Showing the pool member seated in the ground. v

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the construction of `the swimming pool member.

In accordance with the present invention, the prefabricated unitary swimming pool member is illustrated at and comprises end walls 12 and 14, side walls 16 and 18, and a bottom wall illustrated generally at Z0. The bottom wall, as best seen in Figure 2, includes a downwardly displaced portion Zz which provides for increased depth of the pool at one end thereof. The downwardly.

1r2,944,264 Patented vJuly 12,l 1960 2 stitutes slightly more than one-half of its longitudinal dimension and is slightly inclined toward 'the downwardly formed bottom Iwall portion 22. When vit is desiredrt'o employ. the ldeep portion of the pool, as for example for diving, lthe vvplatform 24 -is movedwfrom the full line position vshown `n Figures l and tothe dotted line position where it rests upon and reinforces 'the bottom wall portionA 32,.

Inasmuchk as the platform portion 24 and the downwardly formed bottom wall portion ZZ occupy less than one-half of the' longitudinal dimension of 'the pool mem- 'i ber 10, it will be apparent that when moved toward the shallow end of the pool member, Ithe platform member-24 is spaced from the downwardly vformed bottom wall portion 22 ran'd does not interfere with full use there- Ofr Y The pool member 10 has been describedA as preformed andi of unitary construction. In Figure 4 there is illustrated a sectional enlargement of a portion of a side and bottom wall thereof, as for example side wall 16 andV impervious todeterioration, the best results have been obtained when thewoven fabric in the laminations is a woven glass fabric woven from glass fibers.

layers of fabric lare impregnated with a suitable resin. Best results have been obtained lwhen the resinemployed for this purpose is a polyester resin. The resin in uncured form is applied to the laminations of fabricin such quantity as to insure complete impregnation and filling up of all pores or openings therein. In- Figure 4 layers 34, 36, 38 and 46 are illustrated diagrammatically, each of which represents a woven Iwabric of glass fibers fully impregnated with the res-in and bonded lthereby to adjacent laminations. At the inside of the pool member there is provided a smooth seal coating or covering layer 42 also of the same polyester resin. There is thus provided a smooth surface at the interior of the pool member completely avoiding cracks and crevices present in other types of .tanlts or pools, thus providing a completely sanitary inner lining or surface.' Conveniently, the inner surface may be applied as a spray coat suitably compounded to cure immediately after deposition.

The structure disclosed `herein is exceptionally light and strong and may be readily transported from the manufacturing o-r assembly area to the various sites of use. The product is substantially rigid but not brittle and due to its exceptional strength, requires only ordinary care and precautions in placing it in the ground and filling in around it. It is unnecessary to drain the water from the pool member .during lthe winter, and if used in a cold climate, the pool member, lled with water, may function as a skating rink.

The drawing and the foregoing specification constitute a description of the improved prefabricated swimming pool in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the appendedY claims.

What We claim as our invention is:

1. A swimming pool member having side, end and bottom walls, said bottom wall being substantially horizontal for at least half the length thereof from one end Y Aa deep end at the other end of the pool, a safety jacket In orderv `to bond the laminations of the glass ber fabric together, and to provide an effective water-tight seal, the n in combination with said pool having a floor portion substantially at the level of the horizontal portion of the bottom wall of said pool and also having means for support thereof from the sides of said pool, Vsaid vfloor por-V tion'of said safety jacket having substantially the same dimensions horizontally as the deep end of the pool, said safety jacket being adapted to be positioned selectively over the shallow end of said pool to provide reinforce-y ment for the horizontal bottom at said shallow end and over the deep end of said pool to provide a bottom therefor thereby reducing the depth thereof for the safety of non-swimmers. Y

2. Structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pool member and safety jacket are separate unitary structures formed of a plurality of lamina of woven fabric impregf nated, bonded together and sealed with plastic, each of said separate structures being adapted to be constructed, transported and installed as a single unit. A

3. Structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said safety jacket from the sides of the pool comprise substantially flat, upwardly extending,

elongated arms secured to the floor pontion of the safety jacket at each side thereof, said arms including portions at the upper ends thereof extending substantially horizontally outwardly of said pool member over the side walls of the pool member.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

